Asia's Best Analysts

Asia's Best Analysts: The Winners

"We knew the in-cell concern was pretty much baked in the share price back then and we were looking for a positive catalyst," Mr. Hsieh said.

The opportunity that he was seeking came at the Taipei trade show Computex, where Intel Corp. announced it was investing in touch-panel makers to secure a supply for its customers working on new tablet and touch-screen laptop designs. Mr. Hsieh raised his rating on TPK to buy right as the stock was taking off. His pick returned 98%, versus the stock's 74% return for the full year.

The 42-year-old Mr. Hsieh remains upbeat on the touch-panel industry, with the rapid adoption rate of mobile devices like tablets and smartphones. While touch-screen PCs were slow to take off in 2012, they continue to be a growing sector.

"We think touch panel is one of the few sectors with an expanding addressable market," Mr. Hsieh said. "We believe investing in the leader in this business could continually generate superior investment return."

However, he says Apple's suppliers could stumble in 2013 unless they find new growth drivers, due to a lack of distinctive new products from the Cupertino, Calif.-based firm, aside from predictable refreshes of its iPhone and iPad lines.

Mr. Hsieh had a miss last year with Wintek Corp., another Taiwanese touch-panel maker. He upgraded his sell rating to neutral in May, when the share price fell below his price target. But with Wintek's fundamentals continuing to deteriorate, and the company losing money after the first quarter, the share price failed to rebound, and Mr. Hsieh returned to a sell rating in August. Wintek fell 28% on the year.

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com.